Karzai widens lead in vote tally

Sunday

Aug 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMAug 30, 2009 at 7:25 AM

The Associated Press

KABUL (AP) — President Hamid Karzai widened his lead over his main challenger in election returns released yesterday, creeping toward the 50 percent mark that would enable him to avoid a run-off in the divisive presidential contest.

Karzai’s top challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, stepped up his fraud charges, raising doubts whether the former foreign minister’s followers would accept the incumbent if he wins in the first round.

Accusations of fraud in the Aug. 20 vote have poured into the Electoral Complaint Commission, which must investigate the allegations before final results can be announced.

Fraud allegations from Abdullah and other presidential candidates as well as low turnout in the violent south could strip the election of legitimacy, not only among Afghans but also among the United States and its international partners that have staked their Afghan policies on support for a credible government.

A widely accepted Afghan government is one of the pillars of President Barack Obama’s strategy to turn the tide of the Taliban insurgency. The election controversy has boiled over at a time of rising U.S. and NATO casualties, undermining support for the war in the United States, Britain and other countries with troops here.

Figures released yesterday show Karzai with 46.2 percent of the votes against Abdullah’s 31.4 percent.

The results are based on 35 percent of the country’s polling stations, meaning the percentages could still change dramatically.